Brandon Donlevy reaches under rocks to feel for abalone at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

April 8, 2012, 10:41PM

04/08/2012

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North of Fort Ross, a man with a shaved head strode from the sea onto Stillwater Cove beach with an abalone under one arm and his hand outstretched for a shake.

"I'm Flash Gordon," he said. "My parents were hippies. I only take what I can eat. I don't know any better source of protein."

It was the 32-year-old San Francisco man's first day hunting for the popular mollusk since the season opened April 1. Like most other divers, he saw his first foray of the year delayed until this weekend by foul weather that made the North Coast waters too difficult and dangerous.

North Coast Abalone Diving

Randy Temple, left, and Brandon Donlevy wade into the chilly water shortly after daybreak as they prepare abalone diving at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Abalone divers carry their floats along the rugged beach at Fort Ross State Historic Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Brandon Donlevy reaches under rocks to feel for abalone at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Brandon Donlevy measures the size of abalone to make sure it is of legal size at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Working on a 14-hour shift, Jerrad Swaney, a game warden with the California Department of Fish and Game, watches divers as they search for abalone at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Colin Donlevy swims in on his dive float after harvesting his maximum number of abalone, 3, at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Randy Temple reaches under a boulder to feel for abalone at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

An abalone diver kicks his flippers up as he dives under the surface at Fort Ross State Historic Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Colin Donlevy, second from right, fills out information to tag his abalone at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Tony Delucchi reads up on information to properly tag his two abalone at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

Brandon Donlevy laughs with his father, Tristan, after diving for abalone at Stillwater Cove Regional Park north of Jenner, California, on Sunday, April 8, 2012. (BETH SCHLANKER/ The Press Democrat)

"It was just too murky out there," Gordon, holding a 7?-inch abalone, said of the opening day.

Authorities reported no diver mishaps over the weekend. But underwater visibility was limited, about two-and-a-half feet.

Still, said Gordon, who's been diving for abalone since he was a teenager, "It's a gorgous view."

Easter Sunday along the coast was cast in a pale blue light. At Stillwater Cove — about a football field across at its widest — the gunmetal-colored sea shot through rocky channels on either side of the arrowhead-shaped beach. Surf leaped to slap at the cliffsides.

"Rough," said Steve Clearwater, 23, of Thousand Oaks, suiting up to enter the water, one of about a half-dozen divers at the beach by later morning. Exiting divers said the water temperature was 47 degrees.

"Surgy," said other divers, arriving on the beach with their limit of three abalone. "Crappy."

The North Coast is the only part of the California coast where abalone can be taken now. Last year, a mass shellfish die-off shut down the season in September, two months early, along the Sonoma Coast.

On Sunday, much of Fort Ross Historic Park remained closed, with the season there delayed until June 1. Waters farther north, in the Fort Bragg area, were still too turbulent to dive on Sunday, other divers said.

A red tide algae bloom involving a species rare locally, killed hundrds of thousands of abalone, chitons and other invertebrates in 2011, scientists believe.

"That's my biggest question, how last year's die-off affected this year," said Victor Critchfield, fiddling with his equipment by the side of Highway 101, above the little bay.

"I don't know how many there will be out there, but we'll see," said the 48-year-old San Francisco man.

At stake — at least, to a degree — was "marital bliss," he said. "My wife loves to eat abalone."

For Clearwater, abalone are a smaller portion of the attraction.

"I"m not crazy about it, but it's being down there that's awesome," he said. "Big-finned cod. Sharks swimming around you."

North of Fort Ross, a man with a shaved head strode from the sea onto Stillwater Cove beach with an abalone under one arm and his hand outstretched for a shake.

"I'm Flash Gordon," he said. "My parents were hippies. I only take what I can eat. I don't know any better source of protein."

It was the 32-year-old San Francisco man's first day hunting for the popular mollusk since the season opened April 1. Like most other divers, he saw his first foray of the year delayed until this weekend by foul weather that made the North Coast waters too difficult and dangerous.

"It was just too murky out there," Gordon, holding a 7?-inch abalone, said of the opening day.

Authorities reported no diver mishaps over the weekend. But underwater visibility was limited, about two-and-a-half feet.

Still, said Gordon, who's been diving for abalone since he was a teenager, "It's a gorgous view."

Easter Sunday along the coast was cast in a pale blue light. At Stillwater Cove — about a football field across at its widest — the gunmetal-colored sea shot through rocky channels on either side of the arrowhead-shaped beach. Surf leaped to slap at the cliffsides.

"Rough," said Steve Clearwater, 23, of Thousand Oaks, suiting up to enter the water, one of about a half-dozen divers at the beach by later morning. Exiting divers said the water temperature was 47 degrees.

"Surgy," said other divers, arriving on the beach with their limit of three abalone. "Crappy."

The North Coast is the only part of the California coast where abalone can be taken now. Last year, a mass shellfish die-off shut down the season in September, two months early, along the Sonoma Coast.

On Sunday, much of Fort Ross Historic Park remained closed, with the season there delayed until June 1. Waters farther north, in the Fort Bragg area, were still too turbulent to dive on Sunday, other divers said.

A red tide algae bloom involving a species rare locally, killed hundrds of thousands of abalone, chitons and other invertebrates in 2011, scientists believe.

"That's my biggest question, how last year's die-off affected this year," said Victor Critchfield, fiddling with his equipment by the side of Highway 101, above the little bay.

"I don't know how many there will be out there, but we'll see," said the 48-year-old San Francisco man.

At stake — at least, to a degree — was "marital bliss," he said. "My wife loves to eat abalone."

For Clearwater, abalone are a smaller portion of the attraction.

"I"m not crazy about it, but it's being down there that's awesome," he said. "Big-finned cod. Sharks swimming around you."